Summary
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Nintendo's upcoming Switch 2 console may feature Nvidia's DLSS upscaling technology, aimed at running games at higher resolutions.
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Third-party games were also easier to port to the console.
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The company is expected to announce the Switch's successor in March 2025.
Nintendo recently filed a patent for it Switch 2 It mentions support for Nvidia's DLSS upscaling, confirming a key feature mentioned in previous reports about the upcoming console. The Nintendo Switch is reaching the end of its lifespan and fans await the day when the Japanese company announces its successor in 2025. While there have long been rumors about the Switch 2 console, Nintendo confirmed that it would make an announcement about it in 2025, although specific details about it were kept quiet.
Rumors and speculation have surrounded the successor console to the Nintendo Switch since it was first announced, resulting in a lot of information circulating that is difficult to determine whether it is accurate or made up. One of the more consistent rumors about the Nintendo Switch 2 is its alleged support for AI upscaling, with particular mention of Nvidia's DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), which would allow the hardware to run its games at a higher resolution. Supposedly this was shown in action at the Nintendo Switch 2 demo at Gamescom, where the Unreal Engine tech demo was able to run The Matrix awakens. Thanks to Nvidia's upscaling, the graphics were apparently on par with the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Related
Switch 2 may not be as powerful as rumors
A new rumor suggests that the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 may not be as powerful as previous speculation led players to believe.
A new patent from Nintendo claims that the Switch 2 will use DLSS-style upscaling. According to a post by Laura Kate Dale on BlueSky, the patent lists an example where the system can be used to “reduce the overall size of games” to accommodate them on “smaller capacity physical media” such as Nintendo Switch cartridges . She adds that games with native 4K textures may require a 60GB download, but a native 1080 version may only require 20GB, allowing it to fit on a maximum 32GB Switch cartridge. Therefore, the game can be upscaled to 4K in real time using the hardware.
Upscaling the Switch 2 could benefit third-party games
Dale continues to speculate about the Switch 2's possible use of DLSS, saying that she understands the patent to mean that it will create a system that makes it easier to port third-party games to the console. She predicts that as developers create 4K versions of their games, screenshots from them can be used to learn the Switch 2 and improve the quality of the graphics when it is ported to the system at a lower resolution.
December 2024 saw frequent leaks of the Switch 2 console itself, including photos of what the system apparently looks like. While there were many accusations that it was AI-generated, a deep dive reportedly confirmed that many details were correct. Fans will have to wait until the end of this year for Nintendo to make an official announcement about the Switch's successor.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console released in 2017 that can be played in handheld mode or docked to a television. The Switch Lite, a handheld-only model, followed in 2019, with an OLED refresh in 2021.
